The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Transmission Jig

in the last couple of weeks I've had to do clutch work on my 63, 68 trucks, SM420 and SM465. Holding the transmission up has been a real PITA. I've been working with a "Universal Transmission Holder" and it is useless for anything other than a platform to set the transmission on. It may work with automatics, but not these big 4 speeds. I can't justify an expensive shop unit. Does anyone have a Cheep solution?

Larry
68 C20 327 daily driver
63 C20 292 Camper truck
65 C10 ? Custom Cab AC,PB,PS,$flasher - Long term Project

Roll down the windows and get a long piece of I-beam that will go through the cab. Block up the i-beam and use a come-a-long to suspend the transmission from above, after removing the floor pan. Another alternative could be to stick a cherry picker through the door opening and suspend the tranny that way.

This method works quite well as you can wiggle the tranny when removing or installing it, plus you don't have the tranny jack in your way underneath the truck. Just make sure you use iron susbstantial enough to hold the tranny.

RaceCarl, I like the I-Beam. The biggiest problem is why din't I think of it. I was thinking of welding up some kind of jig to sit on the tranny jack, but there doesn't seem to be any clean way of mounting it to the bottom of the tranny. The I-Beam should work great. I like the jiggle factor and not having to work around the tranny jack. Thanks for the help.

Larry
68 C20 327 daily driver
63 C20 292 Camper truck
65 C10 ? Custom Cab AC,PB,PS,$flasher - Long term Project

I used the cherry picker through the door last time I had my tranny (SM420) out. It worked great. I used a length of 1" woven cotton hawser I got from a coast guard friend to support the tranny by two loops around it, and that was enough to hold it level and slide it pretty easily. I used an old pair of 235 head bolts to help guide it into the bellhousing. They are the same thread as the tranny bolts.